Fires, dry summer turn Montana into scorched, 'very brown landscape'

The 19 Mile wildfire in southwest Montana consumes a home on Wednesday.

Winds and high temperatures were expected to create critical wildfire conditions this weekend in parts of Colorado, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming and nearly all of Montana -- where three new large fires started Friday, adding to the 100 square miles that have burned there in recent days.

"Most of middle class America would be able to recover," Jennifer Perfater, tribal liaison for the American Red Cross of Montana, told The Associated Press. "But on the reservations here, you've got people who don't have homeowners insurance because they can't afford it. They've completely lost their homes."

Across the U.S., this year has seen fewer total wildfires than average, but a much larger area burned.